Over at The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg says that the “most consequential news from the Middle East today” is Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal’s promise to keep oil prices under $100 a barrel. Why does this matter? Argues Goldberg: Because it clears the way for an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. I’m not suggesting coordination […]

The Libya conflict — a war of protection, a humanitarian intervention, an intrusion to save civilians’ lives — has created new humanitarian crises of its own, within and beyond Libya’s borders. Over 22,000 people are reported to have fled armed Malian “rebels” who are intent on reinvigorating a fight with the government. Aid groups are […]

Billions of people who don’t know and don’t care that the French are having a presidential election this spring could get the shock of their lives.  A victory for Francois Hollande, challenging Nicolas Sarkozy for the presidency could bring the euro down and plunge the world back into recession.And Hollande is not only ahead; the […]

The jobs of the future are coming faster than we think. In the Harvard Business Review, Anne-Marie Slaughter offers some helpful advice on finding the perfect profession in the new economy. Look at the world around you, she says, and design your own profession that connects the various strands throughout the economy: Look around, find […]

France’s Le Monde newspaper gets a story that has somehow eluded the US press:  India and Japan are steadily deepening their relationship.  The story (unfortunately written in French, a bad habit the Parisian press seems for some reason unwilling to change) is huge: “Votre voisin est votre ennemi naturel et le voisin de votre voisin […]

For many Americans, the big story Sunday evening was the New York Giants’ victory over the New England Patriots and Eli Manning’s coronation as one of the NFL’s elite quarterbacks. But for Via Meadia, the real news broke before the game, during Matt Lauer’s interview with President Obama. Asked about the Iranian threat and Israel’s […]

With British-Argentine tensions escalating in the South Atlantic over the barren Falkland Islands, many observers, Via Meadia included, have predicted a similar confrontation over Gibraltar, Britain’s other controversial possession. Now this very scenario appears to be playing out, as Gibraltar’s new Chief Minister had scarcely ascended to his chair when Spain intensified its claim to […]

First the mullahs bailed on their threat to close the Strait of Hormuz. Now they’ve walked back their promise to boycott the European Union in response to its oil embargo. Writes the Financial Times (subscription required): Rostam Ghasemi, Iran’s oil minister, on Saturday said that any cut-off in Iranian oil supplies would target “hostile states” […]

The great voices of history are often said to echo down through the generations. But as the New York Times reports, sometimes those voices are more than just a metaphor: Tucked away for decades in a cabinet in Thomas Edison’s laboratory, just behind the cot in which the great inventor napped, a trove of wax […]

Via NPR strategy whiz Andy Carvin come some remarkable prep notes written for Bashar Assad before his December interview with Barbara Walters. Excerpts: It is hugely important and worth mentioning that “mistakes” have been done in the beginning of the crises because we did not have a well-organized “police force”. American Psyche can be easily […]